Friday, October 17, 2008

Found this at Keyboard's place:Almost a year after two teenage girls were found dead — allegedly executed by their father — in the back seat of a taxicab in Texas, the FBI is saying for the first time that the case may have been an "honor killing."

Sarah Said, 17, and her sister Amina, 18, were killed on New Year's Day, but for nine months authorities deflected questions about whether their father — the prime suspect and the subject of a nationwide manhunt — may have targeted them because of a perceived slight upon his honor.

The usual suspects are whining that it shouldn't be called that, it might 'stigmatize the islamic community' and so forth. I would like to inform CAIR that muslims murdering their daughters and wives- many, many documented cases around the world- is what 'stigmatizes' your beliefs. Be nice if you did something to stop that garbage.

I'm listening to Fox, on which an Obama spokeshole is claiming that the McCain campaign "didn't vet Joe the Plumber."

They must be terrified.

So terrified that they come up with crap like this. Let's see, Barack Don't Ask Me REAL Questions Hussein Obama is in the guys neighborhood. Asks for questions. Guy asks a question and The Obama slips and tells the truth about what he is. And the McCain people should have vetted him?

Sorry Excuse For:He runs into a member of one of the groups, and they tell him outright that the group has their eye on him, will get even, he is dead meat, etc.. He requests from his supervisor an emergency transfer. With one of those the person and family are moved immediately, to a good distance, and given new identities (down to a credit history under their new names, so no one can trace them that way).

His supervisor handles it as an ordinary, voluntary, transfer. As in, it'll take weeks for approval, if we do approve, you can be transferred nearby, no new identity. In the meantime other reports are coming in. An informant who shared a cell with a prison gang leader reports that he saw a list of men marked for "hits" and noticed the agent's name on it. Etc., etc.. It becomes apparent that not one, but two groups well-known for killing people are both out to kill him.

The transfer is not modified. It's still voluntary, agent is in one duty station and would like to move to another for personal reasons, and HQ will process when they feel like it.

It's kind of amazing. If nothing else, how the hell do these clowns expect to get people to volunteer for this kind of amazingly dangerous work, when they know they'll be crapped on for it down the line?

and might become very interesting: API is disturbed by the way many have reacted to the story on Mrs Obama’s call. Many have shown us by the way they have behaved towards API that they only think of their own interests because they have demanded that the audio recordings should be released immediately. We understand that the tapes should be released, but those who have demanded the release of the tapes seem not take into account that API may become a suing target.

The Recordings:

API has recordings of the conversation between API and Mrs Obama (Shocking development: Mrs Obama decides enough is enough: “My husband was born in Hawaii and adopted by his step father, does that make him unpatriotic; she asks”, on a direct telephone to API., and we confirm that the audio will be released to the public. In the last 24 hours, API has been consulting legal advisers on the way forward in order to avoid being sued by the Obama camp. API has realised that the contents of the tapes if made public may change the political atmosphere in America for ever, especially in the next few days.

Due to enormous reactions received, API now understands the impact of the statements made by Mrs Obama. The American people have reacted in a way we in API would never have expected...............A number of Americans who are die-hard Obama followers have tried their best to intimidate API using all kinds of threatening methods when they call in and when they email us. They are implying that API is planning to destroy Obama’s chances to become the next US President. API does not have a direct interest in the US Presidential elections and we want Obama supporters to understand that. However, when someone who may become the next first lady makes such comments as in the story we have published, the public have the right to know. Intimidation directed to the publishers of the story is not the answer.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

to get the bad taste of politics out of my system, and to try a couple of loads. Specifically, I wanted a load that would closely duplicate the factory 185-grain Gold Dot 45acp load. The factory stuff is damned expensive, so having something very close to practice with would be rather nice.

Couple of days ago I looked at the Alliant Powder site and, lo and behold, they had some loads for that specific bullet. Since I A: had some and B: it gave higher velocity I went with Unique.

I have to mention, I've always had two problems with Unique: it didn't feed very smoothly through my powder measure, and it burned fairly dirty. Why use it? Because there are a couple of older cartridges it's one of the most recommended powders for, and because it tends to give good accuracy in them. Last time I got a bottle I noticed the new bottles are marked 'Cleaner Burning'. And it is, noticeably so. It also flows through the measure better than the previous version; whether the two are related, no idea, but I'm glad of it either way.

Yes, I did drop the charge from the load shown, using 8.0 grains. I loaded two full loads in my pistol(16 rounds) to try. Well, it felt indistinguishable from the factory loads, and the shots went right where they were supposed to. No signs I could spot of high pressure, so I'll make up some more and, next time I'm at the outdoor range, use the Chrony to check velocity(along with the other stuff I need to test).

telling them what I think about the current results of the Pork, Payoff and Bribes Bill. Yes, I was polite. No, I do not write 'The Honorable' in the address or any other of that bullcrap; they're our EMPLOYEES, dammit, since when am I supposed to crawl when I speak to them?

I just got a canned response from Coburn, basically "We had to act or the world would end." So I just sent asking him why, if it was so damned important, they had to lard all the bribes and payoffs and pork into it?

You know, this is just freakin' disgusting, on a level hard to find words for. Countrywide Dodd and Fannie Mae Frank, complicit in causing the problem, corrupt, and still in Congress with their hands all over this crap. And further in our pockets. And the excuse we still get is "We had to act NOW!!!"

Lampposts, ropes, politicians...

Oh, saw part of the Glenn Beck show last night. There was a segment with a retired FBI weenie talking about how the government is 'monitoring the internet to keep an eye on 'militia' types who may cause problems after the election'. You ever wondered if a lot of us are on a list, I think you can end your doubts.

Beck asked him if the FBI(mentioned as the agency primarily involved in the monitoring) could be trusted not to let politics shape their actions, and the weenie informed him 'of all the agents I knew over my career, none of them would do that'. WHich means, considering what's come out over the last few years, he either worked only with paragons of virtue, he's blind, or he's lying.

Can we add bureaucrats to the list? Not nearly enough lampposts, but there's always trees, and cranes...

Something I hadn't heard before about it:[Russian sources claim she] was an enormous floating dirty bomb, intended to detonate after exiting the Suez Canal at the eastern end of the Mediterranean and in proximity to the coastal cities of Israel. The entire cargo of radioactive sand, obtained by Iran from China (the latter buys desperately needed oil from the former) and sealed in containers which, when the charges on the ship are set off after the crew took to the boats, will be blasted high into the air where prevailing winds will push the highly dangerous and radioactive cloud ashore.

That would be remarkably nasty. And fit right in with Ahmadogcrap's threats.

Elsa the Lion turning out to be less than a storybook happy-ending story a while back, in the comments. Including:I cant see why you had to write this story.About elsa the lion she was doing what any lion woud do to feed her young cubs when she can not hunt,on her own and you shot her. Shame on you

Yeah, God forbid I actually take note of a problem with an idea. But, of course, I am a Nasty Gun-Clinging American:But you are from the US the gun country shoot anything and anyone.Yeah, corpses everywhere and holes in the neighbor's houses, that's me.

Nothing in this world is perfect and even the best of intentions can go awry. The wild animal population needs our help and support! Not people like you who could probably find a negative thing amidst an almost perfect bed of roses!Well, the roses don't crawl out of the bed and chase me with their thorns, but overall I find them pretty pleasing. And he's stuck on 'people like you!' It seems that simply by writing about this incident, I have become a Destroyer of Wildlife and All That is Good; kind of like writing about Barack I Hate Plumbers Obama makes you a racist, I guess.

I wasn't going to post about this until I got another comment today, including the above and this gem:Maybe when we can fully appreciate all forms of life(including people like you), maybe then we can find hope in saving ourselves!No, of COURSE I have no consideration for other forms of life. Otherwise I'd be a enviroweenie animal-rights squirrel(oops, there's that specie-ism again) who thinks writing about a people-munching lion is equivalent to wanting them all shot. Geez.

Ah well, I need to check the muzzle-loader out. Just in case I have a chance the next while to go out and whack Bambi.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

"Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn't it?" the plumber asked, complaining that he was being taxed "more and more for fulfilling the American dream."

"It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance for success too," Obama responded. "My attitude is that if the economy's good for folks from the bottom up, it's gonna be good for everybody ... I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."

This moron thinks that taxing the life out of someone building a business is 'spreading the wealth around'. Spoken like a socialist politician who's never had a damn thing to do with a business in his life.

I don't think I've said this before, though I thought it: this man is flat-out dangerous to this nation.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Cool, solid overcast, and a mix of fog and/or very light rain all day. And I think most of the night. Which makes it nasty outside, but a good night for sleeping it was.

And the stuff helped the friend plant- and the stuff that wasn't in the ground yet- should like it.

Times past, I'd have headed for the woods on a day like this. However, between work, time and distance that isn't an option most days. Does make baking and such a more comfortable, though.

And that's the extent of my brilliance today. Except I'll pass on another dog story:

My parents used to have a West Highland Terrier; think of a Scottie, white and smaller. Very nice dog. Got along with everyone, cats no problem, with one real dislike.

Skateboards.

She detested them. If she heard or saw one coming down the street, she hit the fence. If she was inside, and there was no one to let her out, she’d run through the house to the doggie door in back to get out, then clear around the house to bark at it.

Well, years before this Mom & Dad had a deck built on back of the house. Except for the hottest weather it was a comfortable place to sit, and Dad extended the roof over a bit to cover an area he leveled with patio blocks for the grill. The one drawback was cats. Stray pregnant females would home in on the place and set up housekeeping under the deck to have their litter. Dad spent a lot of time taming the mom & kittens so he could find homes for them(there was a BIG problem with stray cats for a couple of years).

So one day Mom’s in the bedroom folding clothes, Dad’s out back sitting watching the latest mother & litter play on the deck and the dog’s in the living room. Then she hears it.

Skateboard wheels. Coming down the street.

At this point two of the kittens are rolling around, and the other four & mom are sitting grooming, about two feet in front of the back door.

Cricket(from past experience) jumps up, looks out the window and heads for the back.

Dad is watching the felines when the dog came through the door at a dead run and scattered cats like pins in a kids bowling set and never broke stride. She shot off the deck and around the house to deal with the hated skateboard, leaving five cats in various poses of “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?”

Monday, October 13, 2008

Smaller amounts, not as bad. At least when it's not my blood. And for a change it was not I losing blood.

Went out to visit some friends don’t get the chance to see very often and, while there, helped plant some trees. They bought this house about two years ago and he’s been very big on planting both trees and roses. Some have done fairly well, some not so much; the weather this past winter didn’t help matters. So, went to Lowe’s to help him pick up some potting soil and they had their remaining trees on sale, so…

Six trees and nearly twenty berry bushes later(also on sale), back at the house, there was one tree that’d been loosened up in the pot badly enough thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and get it in the ground. So dug the hole. Which took more than you might think; about two or three inches below the surface there’s a thick layer of clay, actually had to break it up with a pick and then scoop it out to get the hole deep enough. Finally got that done, put some organic matter in the hole and soak it, put in the tree and fill the hole up, then soak it well. Now comes the post, to hold the tree upright in this wind while it settles in and roots. So he got a t-post and the driver and began hammering.

If you’ve never worked with one of these, the driver is basically a section of pipe with a heavy cap welded on one end and a handle on each side. Slip it over the top of the post, drive it down, lift and repeat; lots easier than using a hammer for these.

Well, the ground was hard enough that he was having to really slam it down to get the post in, and had only gotten it in three or four inches when- in one of those “Damn, how’d THAT happen?” accidents- he lifted the driver just a bit too high, which naturally means the thing moved a touch toward him, the bottom edge rose clear of the post and as he drove it down the far side hit and the driver pivoted over and slammed into his head.

I was figuring the best way to tie the tree when he said a word(I promise, it was not “Shuckins”) and hit the ground. It took a minute to figure out exactly what’d happened, since I hadn’t seen it and he was concentrating on pain. Then he took off his hat and we discovered the bleeding, so I told him to stay down with his daughter for company(“Daddy’s ok, he just needs to rest.” “Daddy booboo?” Etc.)

Get inside, “Do you have a first-aid kit?” His wife was on the phone- that was a call that ended quick- and she grabbed a towel and out we went. Apparently the “There’s a bit of hemorrhage, but not much” didn’t really help. “Hemorrhage?!?” “Just a little bit, he banged his head.” She didn’t exactly leave a vacuum behind, but there was a bit of a swirl.

Let me note, the wife is a nurse specializing in pregnant women and newborns; a damn good one. But she says herself that she doesn’t deal well with family and other problems, like head injuries. So after getting him in and cleaned up a bit, she was worried enough to demand a trip to the ER. So an entourage of the wounded, the wife, the daughter(not quite three) and me loaded up. Happily the daughter doesn’t get freaked out, so my job in the event was toFirst, park the car after dropping dizzy husband and wife at the door,Second, bring child in,Third, keep her out of the way and as happy with things as possible. Which I hadn’t done in quite a while, but I remembered how and she did quite well.

So it was determined that while he may have damaged one of his five remaining brain cells, there didn’t seem to be any serious damage. So while wife was being informed as to what specifics to watch for over the next couple of days, I took kid to car and brought it to the door, and all went back to the house. Shortly thereafter I had to go home and get some sleep before work(this is being written at o-dark-thirty in the morning), and as of last word the injured is doing fine. Though his head is going to be sore for a while.

By the time I got home I was able to get about two hours sleep before having to be at work at the proverbial oh-dark-thirty. But I do get to sleep tonight.

E-mail me

at elmtreeforge at att point net

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their consciences. - C.S. Lewis

Y'all got on this boat for different reasons, but y'all come to the same place. So now I'm asking more of you than I have before. Maybe all. Sure as I know anything, I know this - they will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, ten? They'll swing back to the belief that they can make people... better. And I do not hold to that. So no more runnin'. I aim to misbehave. - Capt. Mal

A Rifleman’s Prayer:Oh Lord, I would live my life in freedom, peace and happiness, enjoying the simple pleasures of hearth and home. I would die an old, old man in my own bed, preferably of sexual overexertion.

But if that is not to be, Lord, if monsters such as this should find their way to my little corner of the world on my watch, then help me to sweep those bastards from the ramparts, because doing that is good, and right, and just.

And if in this I should fall, let me be found atop a pile of brass, behind the wall I made of their corpses. Geek with a .45

"He's Black Council,", I said.

"Or maybe stupid," Ebenezar countered.

I thought about it. "Not sure which is scarier."

Ebenezar blinked at me, then snorted. "Stupid, Hoss. Every time. Only so many blackhearted villains in the world, and they only get uppity on occasion. Stupid's everywhere, every day." Ebenezar McCoy

“A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition” ― Rudyard Kipling

This deprecation of individual freedom was objectionable to me. I am convinced now, as I was then, that man is an end because he is a child of God. Man is not made for the state; the state is made for man. To deprive man of freedom is to relegate him to the status of a thing, rather than elevate him to the status of a person. Man must never be treated as means to the end of the state; but always as an end within himself." Dr. M.L. King Jr.